The Europeans | European news, politics and culture Housing policy: Who Does It Best? - Part 1
Oct 24, 2025
Explore the soaring costs of housing and how policies shape our lives. Discover Vienna's social housing success and its challenges, alongside Finland's innovative Housing First approach that ended homelessness. Dive into the inequality between renters and homeowners, driven by wealth and familial support. Paris is also making strides with ambitious social housing measures, though more systemic changes are needed. This lively discussion shines a light on how our governments can truly make a difference in housing policy.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Housing Is An Inheritocracy
- Housing policy amplifies wealth inequality because homeownership transfers wealth across generations through inheritance and gifts.
- Katz Laszlo calls this system an "inheritocracy," where family money largely determines housing access.
Vienna's Social Stock Reduces Rent Pressure
- Vienna kept public social housing and now about half its housing stock is social housing, limiting private rent pressure.
- This broad social housing reduces inequality and creates political support for continued public investment.
Keep Social Housing Public
- Do not privatize or sell large portions of social housing, because it's costly and difficult to rebuild public stock later.
- Preserve public ownership to maintain bargaining power against private landlords and investors.